This past month so much has happened that i don' t even know where to begin but as usual i guess we will begin where we left off...eheheh...
here are some pictures of Lolly and i painted up...eheheh..i was painted up on a day there was an Indian wedding and that is the way i went...LOL..it might seem strange going to a wedding like that but that is the way it is done in the jungle...=)
dont wanna mess with me do you?? eheheh...
after 10 days or so the paint comes off..so dont worry it isnt on me any more...=)
movie stars???
this took a while to do...i was tired at the end..=)
even my back was done...-----------------------
After the Bible Dedications, etc...we had another retreat for the married men from the village...22 went and they all came back impacted and changed with many tears in their eyes they got up and confessed many things they have done wrong and asked for forgiveness and called those up they have offended and hugged them...even the chief went and before he went to the retreat he got up one night and said that he was rededicating his life back to the Lord because he accepted the Lord when he was very young but never fully walked with the Lord...also the Post Director of the village went to the retreat and he came back changed. Even people told him (those who are not saved) that they knew he was going to come back different (because that is what happen to most of the other guys) because now he doesn't cuss people out and use bad words any more. He has gotten up and told the people that he is serious with his walk with God and that from 6-7 in the morning no one is going to find him because he is going to be off praying and told every one not to look for him because they will not find him at that hour. He is setting that time aside because he knows that he needs Gods direction and guidance to make decisions and he wants God's help.
Another guy (a Brazilian who married an Indian who also went to retreat) who has a collage education and a intelligent man, asked for my dad's forgiveness because he had many wrong judgments against us, missionaries, church, etc. and that he now sees that this is the right way (before he went he wasn't saved he got saved at retreat and also he told us that he hopes this path is the right way because he is tired and all the other things he tried that have not given him Peace nor Joy, which is what the Christian life is suppose to be about!). He said what really got his attention about the group of believers is because he knows there is a great drinking problem among them and one weekend several months ago there was a big dance in another tribe and the youth group (the majority) stayed and prayed all night long in the tribe. He asked his own daughter if she was going and she said "No"...and that really shocked him because he knew that she use to love to go to these "parties". That was when he realized that there was something different about the Christian life.
There is much more i could tell you but the Joy and Love of God is so real that it is impacting people in such a way that it is breaking down old and hard barriers that prevented the Indians to show or express kindness to others or even getting to know others. We have kinda started cell groups with them and i am already seeing the fruit of relationships building! One of the leaders is all excited and tells me how he is getting to know one of the guys in his group. Also the same leader told me that if it wasn't for the accountability thing that we have he would have quite walking with God and turned his back after some hard problem he went through....
Now we will get to the pictures! eheheh...
My Dad went down south for over 2 weeks to visit family and got to go down to see Darel, Bella and his granddaughter whom he hadn't even met! So while down there the group of believers wanted to get together and work on the roof our garage (it had holes and was destroying the walls, we had the thatch cut and ready to put up but we just needed the rest of the wood) so they for about 10 days, different guys helped out, probably like 10 every day helped out (there were different guys that helped out) Due to being at the end of the month and all we didn't have enough food to feed the guys so the people in the group started bringing food. The Holy Spirit began touching the lives of many and they started bringing rice, flour, sugar, beans, many of the basic stuff we needed! Also one day Lolly and I went to the small town in the Indian truck for a soccer game and when we got there 2 couples took Lolly and I to have lunch and later they took us to the store and brought many things we were needing and had us pick something we needed out for our personal use!! My friend the things that are happening are unreal. This has never happened as long as i can remember all of these years that i have been here. It is always the missionary who is always doing, buying, fixing, giving, helping and taking someone somewhere and now they are helping us out. Not only that but the ladies have pitched in and helped cooked while the guys were working.
It was a lot of work and i marvel at all the help that was given during that time...and i was sure exhausted after all that we did...it wasn't easy work either...
taking the thatch off was pretty easy but putting the stuff back up wasn't as easy....
..............
would you like to have breakfast with me?? i would love to have you join me...=)July is a month of Birthdays for us...on the 8th of Sunday Lolly completed 18 years...sadly my Dad wasn't able to attend due to his travels...
The people were the ones that did the cake for Lolly and they did a surprise party for her...was it a surprise Lolly? ehehehe...
me, Lolly and Mom....
i didnt flip the picture before uploading...sorry..
hmmm...it looks like a toy but it is a real thing...heheeh...they took the stinger out...when i saw it it looked like plastic...=)
and of course the following Wed of the 11th i completed 20 years...i tell people that i am getting old and they just laugh at me like i don't know what i am talking about...ahahahah...any way, it is hard to believe i am 20, the years went by so fast that i wonder what the next years will be like...i read recently that our life is like toilet paper, as it gets to the end it rolls faster....and i see that it is true...
me and Lolly...
Dad was able to arrive that night for the party...I had an interesting day...so let me back up a little and give you an over view...Before my Dad left the truck broke and he didn't have the time to fix it...so the Believers got together and raised up the money $300 reis (about $150 dollars ) and they got it fixed for us, as a surprise for my Dad.
After the truck was fixed we went to go get oranges in the jungle...leaving at 11:30 a.m. We went to 2 different places (not close at all), the first place not having any oranges, we went to the second only to find when we arrived there that there weren't any oranges there, that was probably like 3 in the afternoon and i was at the end of myself..frustrated that we hadn't found any oranges...i was hungry, hot and not that happy...but off to the side not far from where we were at we found a grove of oranges! That place was loaded with oranges...so we got as many as we could. Since it was so late and my Dad was to be arriving that afternoon/evening we could only get 5 big bags of oranges (i wish we could have gotten more)...well on the way home the car broke down on the main road...finally someone came by and went to call for help...about 6:30 the Indian truck got us and we got to the village about 7 in the evening...about 10 minutes later my Dad drives in...Dad was surprised, shocked and pleased of what was done while he was gone and he said "I never imagined all this would have been done."
That will be a day i will never forget...later i find out that they had planned a surprise birthday party for me at 2 in the afternoon and i was sad that i wasn't able to be attend my own birthday party =(...but there was a big celebration that night, a cake for Dad, Mom and me, and an Indian pie for Lolly. They were celebrating my Dad's arrival, my birthday, Lolly's birthday a few days before and just made a cake for Mom to show there appreciation for her being there...=) as you can see in the next picture...
it was wonderful that night...
Dad and I...it is wonderful having you back Dad...i love you...------------------------------------------------
Here are some pictures that my Dad took while down south...
my little niece Lissa...isnt she cute?? ehehe...
=)
..............
Pawpaw with Lissa...
Pawpaw playing the harmonica...putting Lissa to sleep..eheheh...
Darel, Bella and Lissa...
another pic...
Pawpaw, Lissa and Darel...=)Well on the 24th Dave and Rau will be completing 3 years of marriage and i forgot to mention in my last blog (i put it in later so some of you might not have seen it) Rau is expecting their 2nd!! So soon there will be another little one toddling around...eheheheh...
Prayer Request: For those of you who pray for us and would like to know how to pray here are a few request...
1) That we would be able to find the part for the truck. It is an older truck and the parts are sometimes hard to find. Also, i almost forgot, the mechanic said that if this problem had happened on the highway,the wheel of the truck would have come off and the truck would have rolled and caused a serious accident...i dont know how many times we have come close to accidents on the road but it is clear that the Hand of God is with us....Thank you Lord!
2) These next few days until the end of the month Mom and Dad are traveling to another village then off to some beach for a few days then off to some conference...pray that they will have a good time and get some rest...as for me i am excited to get to see my parents going off like this because we hardly ever have time to take time off...they went with some friends so that was a less expense for us...=) (Lolly and I are home by ourselves "suffering" HA...just kidding we got friends so we got plenty of fun things to do...like parting!!!!! come join us, LOL!)
3) Pray for wisdom that God will show us how guide and direct the group of believers the next few months...there are many things and possibilities that we can do and would like to do...some of the things are...
- a) Going to other tribes and to take the Word, Love and Joy of God to their neighboring tribes, a few days ago they got up in the meeting and told the group there are 4 village to go to (2 of them are begging for us to go, because there are so many problems and fights that they want help!!!) so they asked for those who want to go to help pitch in what ever they can for the trip!! We are not certain on the vehicle we are going to use but we might be able to use the village's big truck...
- b) We are looking into building something to have meetings in...a few months ago we had a meeting where the people stood standing in the rain for 3 hours, on a Monday night, which is unreal. Raining season is coming in a few months so we need something to have our meetings in...we are thinking of a building of 18 x 20 meters...we are having a hard time to find the right location...right now the meetings are in our yard under the open sky...
- c) We are also looking into some possibilities of starting some kinda of Bible training, seminary, in the village so that way they can study in their own tribe and not have to go far away to study...also many are desiring greatly to be missionaries to tribes where no white man is allowed to go due to "contracts" with organizations..."to keep there old ways"....
4) Finally pray for the Believers as they have many persecutions and temptations...that they will be able to stand firm and be a witness to those around them!
Blessings,
And i hope you enjoyed the pictures!!
Denis for all
p.s. if you would like to see the Indian blog that has pictures of the Indians feel free to let me know so you can get in invite to view the blog.....
----------------------------------------------------------------
These pictures were added after the blog was done and are of Dave and Rau's Anniversary party...=)
Rau and Dave...
eating pizza...hmmmmmm it was good...there is Debbie...she is growing up, she now acts more like a little girl then a baby..=)
eheheh...we got this dessert for half the price!! We asked them to see how much it would be and they went to weigh it (the way it is done here) and it was Reis$ 22 (about Dollar$ 12) and we went back to choose another one and they went to weigh that one (it is the same size, etc) but it came out R$ 15 and the lady said that wasn't right so they turned off the weighing machine and turned it on again and that time it came out about R$ 11! (Dollar$ 6) LOL, i don't know how it happened that way but we were happy to have a nice dessert..=)
Gil and Lolly...a good friend of ours...=)
Aunt Lolly, Debbie and Uncle Denis...=)Thats all folks...
